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January 1, 2004

One Animal, One Person, One Situation at a Time

Through pet owner outreach, spay/neuter subsidies, free doghouse deliveries, promotional events, and relationship-building, Ulli Mattern and her crew of volunteers in Johnston County, North Carolina, are complementing the services of the existing shelter and changing the way citizens think about pet care

By Nancy Lawson

Through pet owner outreach, spay/neuter subsidies, free doghouse deliveries, promotional events, and relationship-building, Ulli Mattern and her crew of volunteers in Johnston County, North Carolina, are complementing the services of the existing shelter and changing the way citizens think about pet care

Who She Is...A staff psychologist at a mental health center by day, Ulli Mattern is better known in her North Carolina community for providing counseling of a different sort. As the president of the Johnston County Animal Protection League, she spends her nights and spare time prowling the neighborhoods of this rural landscape southeast of Raleigh to find people and pets in need of help.

What She Does Now...A visit to the website of the Johnston County Animal Protection League gives the impression that this well-established organization has been a part of the community for decades. Featured on a list entitled "What We Are Doing" is a mind-boggling array of programs and services, from an initiative to provide free doghouses to a classroom outreach program to subsidized spay/neuter services. Few seasons appear to have passed by without some kind of fundraiser or outreach event "For the Love of Animals" on Valentine’s Day, Barktoberfest in the fall, and a yard sale in the summer. During National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week one year, the group even donated staff training videos to its local shelter, set up educational booths in the facility for an hour each day, and collected monetary donations and cleaning and pet supplies for the agency.

Given this impressive list of accomplishments, it may come as a surprise to learn that the Johnston County Animal Protection League did not even exist until two and a half years ago, when Mattern and her friend became so distressed by a series of newspaper articles on animal cruelty that they decided to stop feeling helpless and start doing something.